Code A Blueprint For Growth

October 10, 1985|By Katherine Long of The Sentinel Staff

ST. CLOUD — It is a big volume -- several hundred pages -- and the subject would not entertain most people. But developers around St. Cloud are sure to snap up the city's proposed new land development code as if it were a best seller when it rolls off the press early next year.

Its impact would not be immediate or obvious to the average resident. Much of the information it contains is highly technical.

However, city officials say they hope that it would pave the way for more orderly growth, clarify confusing language in the code, and provide a clear route for developers to follow in getting projects approved.

The code would be enforceable inside and outside city limits because of the utility zone established recently under the authority of a state statute, Chapter 180. The zone extends from three and five miles outside city limts.

The city wants developers, including those within the utility zone, to bear the cost of building water, sewer and electric lines and constructing drainage systems according to standards determined by the city.

''The city's going to grow, and this is giving us a tool to monitor the growth,'' said Fred Cucurullo, chairman of the planning commission.

The city staff made recommendations on what aspects of the code to change based on problems the city has experienced.

For example, confusing wording in the city's planned unit development ordinance caused frustration for Verlin Lewis, who is developing Savannah Park, a townhouse condominium project on the east side of town. Lewis said he got conflicting information on what was needed for his project to be approved. It also angered residents of that neighborhood, who filed a suit based on what they called irregularities in the way Savannah Park was passed; the outcome has not been determined.

''There was a lot of room for interpretation,'' said Building Official Bill Bauer.

City officials said they also hope to avoid drainage problems, such as the ones which have plagued the city's northwest side, particularly along Montana Avenue.

The city has not been pleased with past development of mobile home parks. Bauer said the new code would elaborate on mobile home park standards, focusing on road widths, buffering requirements and recreational uses.

''Developers have come in here, built, and gotten a good profit,'' Cucurullo said. ''They should be responsible for sewer lines, utility poles, a lot of this.''

The planning commission had a workshop per week for five weeks to go over the detailed document; no residents attended the meetings. It formally was approved Tuesday, and will go before a city council workshop Oct. 24.

Although its biggest impact would be on developers should the code pass, homeowners who are planning home additions houses or swimming pools also would have to consult the code before they begin construction.

Bauer said city staffers have spent almost a year working to update the code. New sections were drawn from sample codes purchased from the Municipal Code Company of Tallahassee.

New sections include a chapter establishing an agricultural zone and a tree protection ordinance.

Specifics of the proposed development code include:

-- Mobile home parks. The code sets certain standards, including requirements on road widths, buffer zones and recreational land. The council also would consider increasing the minimum lot size.

-- Planned unit developments. It defines a PUD, increases the minimum land size from five acres to 20, and explains the steps necessary for a developer to get approval for that form of zoning.

-- Subdivison design standards. It outlines street criteria, with specifics on everything from intersection design to use of materials. A landscaping ordinance would require developers to plant a certain number of trees, and a utility code would spell out the materials to use for sewer and water construction, the flow requirements, and specifics on workmanship.

-- Tree ordinance. The ordinance would require developers to replace certain trees, and require them to get a permit before cutting any tree with a 6-inch trunk diameter 4 1/2 feet above the ground. Homeowners in single family residential neighborhoods would not have to comply.

-- Agricultural zone. The city passed the zone at a workshop earlier this month; it provides for a kind of holding zone, allowing the city to annex farm or pasture land so that it can reach developing land that lies further outside the city.